Make the movement or flow in (a passage, pipe, road, etc.) difficult or impossible

• - block up the holes with sticky tape

• - a police cordon blocked off roads

• - a blocked nose

Put an obstacle in the way of (something proposed or attempted)

• - he stood up, blocking her escape

• - the administration tried to block an agreement on farm subsidies

Restrict the use or conversion of (currency or any other asset)

Hinder or stop the movement or action of (an opponent)

Stop (a blow or ball) from finding its mark

• - when driving for a lay-up or leaping to block a shot

Produce insensibility in (a part of the body) by injecting an anesthetic close to the nerves that supply it

Play in such a way that an opponent cannot establish (a long suit)

Impress text or a design on (a book cover)

Design or plan the movements of actors on a stage or movie set

Shape or reshape (a hat) using a wooden mold

A large solid piece of hard material, esp. rock, stone, or wood, typically with flat surfaces on each side

• - a block of marble

A sturdy, flat-topped block used as a work surface, typically for chopping food

Any of a set of solid cubes used as a child's toy

A block of stone or low wooden steps from which a rider mounts a horse

A starting block

• - the thrust a sprinter gets when coming out of the blocks

A piece of wood or metal engraved for printing on paper or fabric

The main body of an internal combustion engine, containing the pistons

A head-shaped mold used for shaping hats or wigs

The area bounded by four streets in a town or suburb

• - she went for a run around the block

• - ours was the ugliest house on the block

The length of one side of such an area, typically as a measure of distance

• - he lives a few blocks away from the museum

A building, esp. part of a complex, used for a particular purpose

• - a cell block

A large single building subdivided into separate rooms, apartments, or offices

• - an apartment block

A large quantity or allocation of things regarded as a unit

• - a block of shares

• - block grants

A large piece of text processed as a unit

A set of sheets of paper glued along one edge, used for drawing or writing on

• - a sketching block

An unseparated unit of at least four postage stamps in at least two rows, generally a group of four

An obstacle to the normal progress or functioning of something

• - substantial demands for time off may constitute a block to career advancement

• - an emotional block

A hindering or stopping of an opponent's movement or action

A shot in which the racket is held stationary rather than being swung back, esp. a stop volley

A chock for stopping the motion of a wheel

A flat area of something, typically a solid area of color

• - cover the eyelid with a neutral block of color

A pulley or system of pulleys mounted in a case

A person's head

• - “I'll knock your block off,” he said